Inurnment urn



y 4,1950 H. a. MOCLELLEN INURNMENT URN Fild Nov. 8, 1947 $59.1- Ill 9.. 2-

| INVENTOR. HAROL D E. M0 CLELLE/V ATTORNEY imposed against the walls.

Patented July 4, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INURNMENT URN 7 Harold E. McClellen, Lomita Park, Calif. Application November 8, 1947, Serial No. 784,825

2 Claims.

This invention relates to urns for the reception 7 of cremated human remains and particularly to .urn'and any inscription on it are displayed for View by friends of the deceased.

Columbaria are usually permanent structures having interior halls and vaults, the walls of which provide the space required for niches. Usually the Walls are plainly finished and receptacles or niches are built in tiers and super- Niches are sold usually for a definite sum depending upon their size and position on the wall, and the cost includes perpetual care and attention to the entire building as well as protection of the remains deposited in the niche. Consequently, the space occupied by a niche is a determining factor in its value and also in the length of time that will be required to completely fill the available space in any given building. Ordinarily the niche, which is little more than a rectangular space, is sold and then an urn containing the remains is sold and placed in the niche. Sometimes two or more urns of related persons are placed in a single niche, but in any event the urns do not completely occupy the available space. Moreover, the urns themselves, often costly and beautifully designed, are viewed only from the front of the niche and much of their beauty is hidden from sight.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an urn for the reception of cremated remains that will serve at once as an urn and a niche, thereby to conserve space and at the same time to provide an attractive receptacle having the appearance of a niche with an urn disposed within it and protected in the usual manner by a panel of glass or the like. Further and more specific objects and advantages of the invention are made apparent in the following specification wherein a preferred form of the invention is de scribed in detail by reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is an isometric View of an urn embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the urn shown in Fig. 1 also showing a portion of the supporting structure by means of which the urn is made to serve as a niche;

. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary isometric view illusj trating a supporting structure designed for the reception of urns such as that shown in Fig. 1 and showing two urns in place therein, one having a glass panel;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of a portion of the retaining means for the glass panel disposed in front of the urn; and

Fig. 5 isva fragmentary view illustrating the relationship of metal bars employed for retaining the glass panel in place.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2' of the drawings,

. the urn of the present invention comprises a rectangular box-like structure ID of bronze or other 1 H for the reception of .a glass panel l2.

back a short distance from the front is a bronze cover plate i3 secured in place as by screws Hi against a fiange l5 projecting inwardly from all four walls of the receptacle ill. The cover plate i3 is preferably formed with a decorative member formed in relief whichmay have the appearance of an urn, as shown at 16. In the drawings the decorative portion of the panel I3 is shown as formed integrally therewith though the panel may be formed as a solid fiat piece with the decorative portion made separately and then secured in place thereon. With this construction the receptacle H], which serves as a combination niche and urn, provides an unusually large sealed enclosure for the reception of cremated remains, and at the same time a decorative member which may be suitably inscribed is disposed in clear View through the glass front panel l2. This has the advantage that a very small space will be occupied in providing what has the appearance of a niche and urn for the contents of the remains of a single person. Furthermore, a slightly larger niche and urn constructed in the same manner may be employed to contain the cremated remains of several persons in a family. Thus the space occupied and the cost to the purchaser of the space is greatly reduced without detracting y from the appearance presented. It is important to note that, While only a portion, that is about one-half of an urn, is represented in relief on the cover plate, this is, in fact, practically all that may be viewed of an entire urn disposed within the conventional rectangular niche because of the fact that the niche is usally poorly lighted toward its back area and the urn may be viewed from one side only. While the urn herein shown is in a circular or vase form, it is, of course, to be understood that other conventional forms such as the ends of books, statuary, miniature tombs and others may be employed if desired.

Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate the manner in which a plurality of the combined urns and niches may be supported in tiers against a wall, The principal supports comprise vertical plates l8 spaced apart and extending outwardly at right angles to the wall. At vertically spaced intervals on the opposite sides of plates I8 supporting bars l9 are secured as by welding or by the use of screws (not shown) and these bars support the receptacles Ill which slide into place in the manner of drawers. Stop members 20 are preferably provided at th backs of the vertical plates I8 to limit the distance that the receptacles may be inserted and to cause their front edgesto occupy a position flush with the front edges of the panels l8. In order to secure the receptacles H): in place and at the same time to secure the glass plates I2 in front of them, short rectangular bars 2| of suitable width are secured in place on the forward edges of the panels I8 and bars l9 as by screws 22 preferably provided with decorative heads, as shown. Each, of the bars 2| is sufficiently wide to cover the adjacent edges of two receptacles l0, and these bars are held in place in the manner illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. In these figures the horizontal bars 2| are shown as terminating just short of a tapped hole 23 formed in the verticalplates l8, and the vertical bars 2| are shown ashaving their ends abutting the horizontal bars. Consequently, a single screw, the head of which is illustrated by dotted lines at 22 in Fig. 4, serves to cover a portion of each of the four bars and also to retain said bars in position. The bars in turn serve to hold the receptacles in the supporting structure and to retain the glass plates in position covering the fronts of the receptacles.

I claim:

1. An urn for the reception of cremated remains comprising a rectangular receptacle having only one open side, a removable partition disposed inwardly from the open side, means for securing said partition in place to provide a completely closed compartment for said remains within the urn and a second compartment with an open side, and a removable transparent cover for said open side to expose the interior of said second compartment to view.

2. An urn for the reception of cremated remains comprising a rectangular receptacle having only one open side and adapted to be supported against a wall with the open side facing outward- 1y, a removable partition disposed inwardly from the open side, means for securing said partition in place to providea completely closed compartment for said remains within the urn and a second compartment with an open side, a representation in relief of a decorative urn carried by saidpartitionan-d projecting into said second compartment, and a removable transparent cover for said open side to expose the interior of said second compartment to view and present the appearance of, a decorative. urn contained in a glass front niche.

HAROLD E. M-CCLELLEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 384,062 Nelms June 5, 1883 510,744 Warren Dec. 12, 1893 634,123 Root Oct. 3, 1899 1,566,857 Gregory Dec. 22, 1925 1,617,144 Berger Feb. 8, 1927 1,703,157 Lima et al. Feb; 26, 1929 1,964,234 Vogel June 26, 1934 

